From: Allen Robinson <sebaygo@netcom.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 94 15:31:05 PST
To: tcmay@netcom.com
Subject: sociology of unsubscribing
Message-ID: <Pine.3.85.9402181557.A21644-0100000@netcom8>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Tim May writes:


> About half a dozen messages like this one are posted here every week:

>> PLEASE READ!  (sorry to shout)
>>
>> All subscription requests should be sent to cypherpunks-request@toad.com


> Despite this, every day there are several "Unsubscribe me, NOW!"
> messages, with various degrees of politeness.

> Folks, I am not going to repeat the instructions again. This is
> becuase of the following conclusions I have reached:

> 1. The list is divided into two basic classes of readers: those who
> read some or all of the messages, and those who skip most articles and
> don't pay attention to what they read.

> 2. Those who read many of the messages then see these instructions
> over and over again.

> 3. Those who don't read the messages, don't see or understand or have
> a general clue about the instructions.

> 4. It is usually these folks who want off the list urgently. As others
> have noted so many times, they have no clue as the general netiquette
> for getting on and off lists (apparently even forgetting that they got
> ON the list by sending a request to "cypherpunks-request@toad.com").

> MAJOR CONCLUSION: All of the "helpful" instructions, including this
> very message, are useless, as the folks who need to receive them are
> demonstrably not bothering to receive them.

> Draw your own conclusions.


As a veteran of a mere two weeks+ as a subscriber, I doubt
that I have sufficient experience to form much in the way of
conclusions re behavior here.  I'm inclined to agree with
your "major conclusion."

All of this discussion of unsubscribing has made me curious
about the "turnover" rate here.  I saw the stats posted a
week or so ago on current subscribers.  I am wondering if
there are figures available, or if someone could give me a
ballpark sense of how many subscriptions vs. unsubsrciptions
there are in an "average" week or month.  I would also be
interested in getting an idea of how long the "average"
subscriber has been subscribed.

Now...back to lurking.

AR

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Allen Robinson          3208 Pawnee Court       Fayetteville, AR  72701
sebaygo@netcom.com                                   FidoNet 1:391/1370
fax (501) 248-1969                 vox (501) 443-7012 or (501) 248-1808